The Heir of Slytherin and Gryffindor
by Avelera
Summary: Harry is in his 5th year and is called to Dumbledore's office. Has he been lied to all his life about his heritage? This is not a 'Voldemort is Harry's father' fic What he learns begins a string of events. ON PERMANENT HIATUS
1. Harry's Heritage

Harry's Heritage  
  
Disclaimer. The plot and the characters between the Harry's family and the Hogwarts Four families are mine, so is the plot. Everything else is JK Rowling's. If you want something further explained just put your e-mail in the review (which you will do) and I'll explain it there.  
  
A/N: This chapter has been updated. I've gone through and corrected a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes. For those of you who read it before I have inserted an extra paragraph or so to explain things a little more thoroughly.  
  
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16-year-old Harry Potter stood outside the door to Dumbledore's office. He remembered the first time he had been sent here, and how nervous he had been. Things had changed a lot. For one, he was no longer a child and for another, Voldemort was back full force. There was a strange sense of foreboding about this meeting, it had started when Professor McGonagall had come to him during Charms looking like someone had just died. Obviously not a good sign. Harry stared off into space for a moment before muttering, "Jelly beans," and walking in.  
  
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, the sparkle in his eyes seemed slightly muted by a look of fierce determination that he had acquired in the recently. He beckoned for Harry to sit.  
  
"Harry, do you remember the events that took place in your second year?" he stated bluntly.  
  
Harry was slightly taken aback by this question. Of course he remembered that year when the Chamber of Secrets had opened and its horror unleashed. "Of course I remember Professor, what of it?"  
  
"I'm not so concerned about what happened in the chamber," Dumbledore began, and Harry gave out a relieved breath, he had been afraid that it had been opened again, "I'm more concerned about what happened after, or rather, what I told you after."  
  
Harry stared at him blankly. What he had told him? Well, it hadn't been much, just that Godric's sword came out for people in need and why he had almost been put in Slytherin.  
  
"Harry, I lied."  
  
Harry felt his jaw drop open.  
  
"Not about everything, but I left out some things and shaded the truth. I believed you were too young and under too much stress at the time to know," Dumbledore said gravely.  
  
Harry had to take a few deep breaths before stuttering, "I-in what way?"  
  
"It's very hard to explain so I'll start at the beginning. 1000 years ago Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw founded this school."  
  
Harry nodded, familiar with the story.  
  
"All except for Rowena Ravenclaw married and have surviving descendents today," Dumbledore continued.  
  
"Like Voldemort for Salazar Slytherin," Harry broke in.  
  
Dumbledore motioned for him to wait while he continued, "Yes, like Voldemort. Harry, I'd like you to have a look at this," Dumbledore reached into his desk and pulled out a large piece of parchment. Lines crisscrossed all around but at the bottom the names: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor were listed. "Harry, this is a copy of the Hogwart's Four Family Tree. Now I'd ask you to be very attentive while I explain what I did not tell you the year the Chamber was opened."  
  
Harry was starting to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach  
  
Dumbledore glanced at Harry's face and realized the boy's suspicion, "Let's start with Godric Gryffindor. Harry, unlike the other Hogwarts Four, Godric married a muggle. Her name was Sarah and they had two children, both girls. Godiva, a witch; and Grace, a muggle. Now at the moment we are going to concentrate on Grace Gryffindor's line," Dumbledore's hand traced the inked line until he came to another name, much further down. "From her branch out many descendents but the one I want you to pay attention to is Jessica Whipple. Jessica Whipple married another muggle named Harold Evans and had two daughters. You see, she being a direct, though muggle, descendent of Godric had wizarding blood in her. One of the two daughters was a very powerful witch, every bit as powerful as her predecessor. The other was just as magic-less as her parents," Dumbledore looked owlishly at Harry, seeing if he had already figured out what he was going to say next. "The witch daughter's name was Lily, her sister, Petunia."  
  
Harry rocked back in his chair with astonishment, when it suddenly tipped over and left him sprawled on the floor. Dumbledore peered down at him from over the desk, a small smile on his face. "Is that why the sword...?"  
  
"Very good Harry. The sword can't come out for just any Gryffindor, it has to be an Heir of Gryffindor. Now I have some more unpleasant news. If you would kindly resume your seat Harry. Unless the rug is more comfortable," Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled with amusement as Harry scrambled back into his chair.  
  
"Harry, don't do anything rash until I've finished, including shouting, fainting... or falling out of your seat again." Dumbledore's finger once again moved across the family tree until it came to rest on the base of the tree marked: Slytherin. Harry's blanched.  
  
"Now, Salazar Slytherin and his wife Circe also had two children, a boy and a girl. The girl's name was Sevetria and the boy was Salazar after his father. From Sevetria's line," Dumbledore moved his finger to the top branches of the tree, "comes Tom Riddle, or Voldemort. Salazar the second's line is traced down to Serpentius and Zalya Slytherin. They were a very proud family, prouder and richer then the Malfoy's even. And much more famous due to their family line. They had two boys and a girl: Rodveck, Caldar and Samantea." Dumbledore's eyes became bemused. "Caldar and Rodveck were both older then Samantea and both Slytherin's to the bone. But the most curious thing happened to Samantea, to the astonishment of most and the horror of her parents, she was sorted into Gryffindor. An Heir of Slytherin, in Gryffindor! Poor girl... her parents and her brothers began to put distance between themselves and her after that and by her fourth year she only left the school for summer break, which she usually spent with her friends, "Dumbledore's eyes hardened and Harry was astonished at the mix of sadness and anger in his eyes. "Finally, in her 7th year, she was engaged to William Potter, a fellow Gryffindor. That was the last straw for her family, they disowned her, figuring they could do so now that she was to be married. That was what probably saved her life. Five years later, Voldemort went to her parents and her brothers and asked them to join him. They refused and he killed them all, even the children and wives of Rodveck and Caldar. He had no idea that Samantea was still alive and meanwhile, she was having her first and only child. They named him James, Harry, you father. Which is why you look so much like Tom Riddle, you are a Paseltongue, and most likely the reason you were almost Sorted into Slytherin." Having finished his narrative, he looked at Harry to see his reaction.  
  
Harry was wrestling with three different shocks that had left him slack jawed. Firstly Dumbledore had lied to him, well not completely but he had kept things from him. Second and thirdly, he was related to Godric Gryffindor (which was a good thing) and Salazar Slytherin (which was not). He finally stuttered, "How professor? And why did you not tell me sooner?"  
  
"Well, the reason I did not tell you immediately after you saw Tom Riddle and pulled out Gryffindor's sword was.well, I was afraid you would snap. You were under a lot of strain. That's why I kept it from you even after that. I was afraid if you found out who's descendent you were, you might goes as far as to brag about it, which would most certainly draw many people's eyes. Especially people like Rita Skeeter," Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry opened his mouth to protest that he would not have bragged when another thought occurred to him. The thought froze him in his chair and was so overwhelming it seemed to pull him down into a black abyss. He pulled himself together and whispered (if did not whisper he would probably scream), "Professor Dumbledore... I know this relates to why Voldemort wanted to kill my parents and still wants to kill me. Don't lie, I know I can take it. Why. Does. Voldemort. Want. To. Kill. Me?"  
  
Dumbledore's looked at the frightened but fierce look in his Harry's eye and realized it was the time, "I told you you'd understand when you were older, and you are older so might as well tell you. As Voldemort became secure in his power he weeded out the names of all the direct descendents of Salazar, and asked each of them to join him (he did not tell them that the price for refusal was death). Only one line agreed to join him, the Avery's, who did not know who their revered ancestor was. All the others did know and refused him, thinking he was just a young upstart. They paid with their lives. Thirty or so years after he killed Serpentius' family he learned there were two, and soon to be three more heirs of Slytherin: Samantea, James, and you. However, before he got to her, Samantea died of natural causes. A year later you were born. During that year Voldemort realized that Lily was a descendent of Godric, which enraged him. That an Heir of Slytherin should marry an Heir of Gryffindor was a terrible insult. That's not why he went after you though. The reason was you Harry."  
  
Harry was suddenly swallowed up in a wave of grief. It was because of him his parents were dead. Voldemort may have killed James if he had refused but his mother had for him. But Dumbledore was talking again, so he tuned back into reality.  
  
"...Your power at age one surpassed the amount that people have when they are full adults. Voldemort was afraid of you! Child of Godric and Salazar, you had inherited both their powers combined. He knew that under no circumstances would you join his side, both of your parents being Gryffindors and that even if he stole you, you would eventually learn the extent of your power and overthrow him. So he tried to kill you, and failed." Dumbledore paused before looking Harry straight in the eye and asked, "Do you know why the spell bounced off you?"  
  
"Because of my mother, sir?" Harry mumbled.  
  
"Harry, do you have any idea how many parents sacrificed themselves to save their children during Voldemort's reign?" Dumbledore scoffed, "That is what made you an anomaly. Many, many mother's sacrificed themselves to save their children, Susan Bones' mother for example. All those shields did was protect them from Voldemort, they didn't throw back spells like your shield did! No Harry, there are three reasons why you're shield weakened Voldemort so severely." He ticked them off on his fingers.  
  
"The first reason is the obvious one, your mother's sacrifice. That was strong enough to protect you from Voldemort's onslaught. But even with its protection, Voldemort would have been able to remove it if you had not had other protections. Secondly, there was a rather minor protection against kin-slaying. Voldemort is a distant cousin of yours (don't worry Harry, he is not close enough for you to have any of his traits) and it is taboo to kill family members. But that is an old law, it would have only possibly saved you if you were a full grown, fully-trained wizard with many of other shields around you. The third and most important reason Harry, that which makes you different then all the rest, is a pact that goes all the way back to the Hogwarts Four. Godric, Salazar and the others made a solemn agreement that they themselves nor their descendents could in any way harm each other without death or another serious consequence befalling them. Without this pact, Salazar would have probably made attempts on Godric's life, and even the other way around."  
  
"So it is finally out Harry, the reason you survived and why Voldemort wanted to kill you in the first place. All those three combined were powerful enough to reflect the attack. You look rather shocked, if you would like I can give you permission to have the rest of the day off, to give time for it to sink in." Dumbledore added, looking the white-faced Harry full in the eyes.  
  
He shakily stood up, when it suddenly occurred to him, " But Professor Dumbledore, if what you said about the pact is true then Voldemort couldn't attack my mother!" he said triumphantly.  
  
"No, Harry. He could because she threw herself in front of the blast. The Pact did not cover willing death," he said sorrowfully. "Voldemort became emboldened by his success at killing you and believed that the Pact must not apply on your Gryffindor side since it had passed through Muggle blood. Tom always underestimated Muggles." Dumbledore raised his head and looked Harry right in the eye. "Would you still like that day off?"  
  
Harry stood up, seeming to look passed Dumbledore as he said, "Just an hour Professor. I just need an hour just to- to take it all in. May I be excused?" Dumbledore nodded and Harry made his way shakily to the door. Before he turned the knob though he turned back and said, perplexed, "Professor Dumbledore, how did you touch Godric's sword?"  
  
"Why my dear cousin Harry, Godiva Gryffindor has many descendents all over the wizarding world, I'm one of the more direct ones. Don't tell anyone though, being a Headmaster is hard enough," his eyes twinkled merrily as Harry's mouth moved without any words coming out before turning on his heels and closing the door behind him. 


	2. Tears of Sorrow

Tears of Sorrow Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling except for the Hogwarts Family Tree, the Hogwarts Four Pact, some of the spells, and any characters that are not in the book.  
  
A/N: Well you guys I finally did it. Thanks to all of your wonderful reviews I've decided to continue. My latest story, in a word, stunk so if I'm getting off track or changing the characters or making up stupid stuff or turning my characters into Mary Sues *cringes* please tell me. ---------------------------------------------  
  
Harry stumbled out of Dumbledore's office, his mouth still open in shock and his face still twisted into a visage of disbelief. Vaguely he heard the door close magically behind him and the stone gargoyle hopped back into place.  
  
Over and over his mind repeated: It couldn't be true, it just can't be. But it was, how else could he have pulled Godric's sword out of the hat, how else could he be a Parseltongue and how else could he look so uncannily like Tom Riddle.  
  
He continued down the corridor lost in thought before sitting down on one of the benches that lined it. A smile came to his lips as he remembered Dumbledore's parting words. So he was an Heir of Gryffindor along with Harry! He should have known, after all if any one was it would be the Headmaster. Which made them distant cousins.... Harry's thoughts continued along this line until another thought occurred to him. The Hogwarts Four Pact, the one that stated that neither the Hogwarts Four themselves nor their descendents could harm each other.  
  
Harry bit his lip as a horrible realization dawned on him. If they couldn't harm each other how would Dumbledore destroy Voldemort? For that matter, how would he destroy the Dark Lord? He then realized he had never really fought him! When he was a baby Voldemort had attacked him and had nearly died, in his first year it had been Quirrel that touched him (on Voldemort's command), in his third year he had meet Peter Pettigrew, and in his fourth year he had dodged Voldemort's attacks until Priori Incantatem.  
  
He knew that if there was a final face off he would need to be able to attack Voldemort but the only people powerful enough to destroy him were unable to. There was little help in the fact that Voldemort couldn't harm them, he had minions.  
  
The sudden taste of blood in his mouth jolted him back to reality where he realized he had broken the skin of his lip. Down the hallway he could hear a muffled sound as if someone was..sobbing. Probably just a ghost, Harry thought but curiosity made him stand up and walk towards the source of the noise.  
  
There, in the shadow of the statue of Merlin sat a small girl. Her hair was brown and shoulder-length and her frail body was racked with sobs. Harry stayed hidden behind the statue for a moment, debating whether or not he should comfort her. She could only be in 3rd year and whatever happened must have been worst then losing House points to have upset her so much.  
  
He unobtrusively sat down next to her and waited a moment before whispering, "What's wrong?"  
  
She looked up and Harry got a good look at her face. Her eyes were a light blue that seemed to be accented by the redness in her eye from crying and Though her skin was blotched he could see she was normally rather pale. That's not to say she was beautiful by definition, her eyes were a little too far apart and a little too big for her face. But there was something about her eyes that made her look innocent and in need of protection.  
  
"My... my... f-f-father..." she broke into sobs again and wiped her nose on her robe before doing a double-take at Harry, her eyes raked his forehead and grew large. Not with amazement but with fear and anger. She tried to stand up but Harry gently grabbed her arm.  
  
"What about your father?"  
  
"Get away, its all your fault! It's all your fault he's... he's.." her eyes watered again and what she said was muffled.  
  
"He's what?" Harry asked, now overpowered by curiosity and the girls distress.  
  
"He's dead! And your Harry Potter and its all your fault!" she screamed, sorrow turning to rage. "If you had just died or.or if you had killed him, then my father would still be alive! Its all your fault!" she tried to twist away but Harry wouldn't let her go so she started hitting him. He was slightly surprised at how such a small thing could hit so hard. "It's your fault. Its your fault. It's you bloody fault! She screamed then collapsed, sobbing again.  
  
Harry was taken aback, his own revelation about his heritage forgotten. Who was this girl? And how was the death of her father his fault? He came to a conclusion. Voldemort, it always came down to Voldemort, he thought grimly.  
  
"It was Voldemort, wasn't it." It was a statement, not a question.  
  
"Of course it was Voldemort! It's always him... and you. Always making my father miserable and everyone else miserable. Why couldn't it have just been one way or the other? Why couldn't you have die or he have died? Why did you both have to live?" She wasn't talking to him but to the world. Who was this girl and why did she hate him so much?  
  
"What's you name?" he asked.  
  
She glared at him , "Lenore."  
  
"Lenore what?" he asked.  
  
She mumbled something, wiped the last traces of tears from her eyes and walked off with a determined set to her jaw. Harry ran after her and grabbed her arm again. "What was that?" he asked.  
  
"My name is Lenore. Lenore Avery," she said angrily before jerking her hand away and bolting down the hall. Leaving Harry for the second time speechless as he stared at one of his distant cousins who's form was retreating down the hall.  
  
A/N: Sorry that was so short, but once I figure out what I'll write after it will pick up a bit and hopefully get longer. Please review: its not like we get paid on this site but a token review is all I ask for to know you read it. 


	3. What Will Ron Think?

What Will Ron Think?  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters in this chapter belong to me, they belong to JK Rowling. Only the plot and Lenore belong to me.  
  
A/N: Its been more then a year since I started this story and I still don't think I'll finish it but here's the next chapter. I started it a long time ago and finished it last night.

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Harry trudged wearily down the hallway trying not to think. It was too much, it was just too much he lamented as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. In the end Harry had taken the whole day off instead of just an hour. The revelation itself wasn't so bad but finding out about Dumbledore, and his parents, and Lenore Avery. it was just too much. He didn't even look up when the Fat Lady asked him for the password but instead just muttered it and walked in.  
  
"Harry!" he heard someone (who sounded like Hermione) cry and he was suddenly surrounded by a group of eager Gryffindors who wanted to know why he had missed all of his classes. They were all babbling at the same time and finally he gave up asking the politely and yelled, "Oi, just shut up! I'm too tired right now to think, I'll tell you later."  
  
The Gryffindors all backed up with disappointed looks on their faces. It must have been really interesting if this was Harry's reaction. Only Ron and Hermione edged closer protectively.  
  
Harry turned and walked over to a small corner of the common room where three chairs were located and sat down. Hermione and Ron sat in the other chair and waited for Harry to tell them what had left him in such a state.  
  
He opened his mouth to speak but stopped and buried his face in his hands. Oh no, he thought, now I have to tell Ron what happened. He'll probably never forgive me (as if I could help it). This will only make me more famous if it gets out. He let out an inarticulate moan.  
  
"Hey Harry, what happened," Ron asked  
  
"And how was it so important that you skipped class? The OWL's are coming up and you can't afford it," Hermione added. Harry grinned weakly, leave it to Hermione to worry about school in time like this.  
  
"Dumbledore called me to his office and," Harry gulped, " he said I was.. That I was." it was still hard to believe.  
  
"He said you were what?" they asked simultaneously.  
  
"The Heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin," he whispered.  
  
"What?!" Ron shouted.  
  
"I knew it," said Hermione triumphantly.  
  
Harry proceeded to tell them about the Hogwarts Family Tree, why he survived and why Voldemort wanted to kill him (Don't say his name!). He finished up grinning when he told them about Dumbledore being related to them. Hermione was grinning back but Ron just stared at the floor, the shadows hiding his expression.  
  
"Ron," I began.  
  
"So. You are the Heir of Slytherin. And the Heir of bloody Gryffindor as well!" Ron murmured. Harry wasn't sure if he was angry or incredulous.  
  
"Shut up, Harry, just for once shut up!" he straightened and began massaging his temples as if he had a headache. Harry stared at him.  
  
"Ron!" whispered Hermione fiercely. "What's gotten in to you?"  
  
"Oh, I'll tell you what's gotten into me!" Ron exclaimed, Hermione tried furiously to shush him but he ignored her. "That Harry is the Heir of Slytherin. That he's descended from the old Snake himself! And here we thought that we were telling the truth when we said he couldn't have called the basilisk! Tell me Harry, what did Collin ever do to you, eh? And Hermione, and Filch's cat and Nearly Headless Nick! Tell me, Harry, cause I'm a little fuzzy on what happened in the Chamber. Maybe its because I wasn't there when you 'fought' the basilisk. You probably didn't even fight it! Just told it to roll over while you lopped its head off!" by now everyone in the commonroom was staring at them, some of them had begun to edge away slowly from where the three friends sat.  
  
Hermione grabbed Ron's shoulder and swung him around to face her. For a moment he tried to stare her down but her gaze bored into his own, making him look away. "You listen to me now, Ron. I think you're jealous, that's right, jealous. And horribly selfish too. You think its bad that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin? Well how bad do you think it is for him?"  
  
"Thanks, Hermione." Harry said.  
  
"And you!" she rounded on him, her face white with rage yet somehow managing to keep her voice in a whisper. "And you! Keep your mouth shut. Did it ever occur to you that Ron might not like the fact that you're even more 'special' then before" This was getting unfair!  
  
"That's it Hermione, you shut your mouth."  
  
"Yeah, it bothers me. It bothers me more then either of you can know. Ron's my friend and I would never go out of my way to hurt him like you've been implying.. But do you want to know what bothers me more? That I, one of the Heirs of Gryffindor, am too directly related to Gryffindor to attack Voldemort!" this time no one tried shush him for saying You Know Who's name. A silence fell like a blanket over the room. Suddenly the crackle and pop of the fire seemed unbearably loud.  
  
"But.but didn't you fight him before?" a tentative voice sounded from the throng of Gryffindors.  
  
"No. I didn't." He began ticking off on his fingers, "First year: I burnt his servant with my touch. Second year, it was not really him, just the basilisk. Third year I fought his servant. Fourth year," he winced at the memory, " I dodged him but when we finally attacked each other the spell went haywire. I am unable to attack him but he's got minions and the only other Heir of Slytherin he had working for him is dead." He glared at the crowd then drooped wearily. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. Contrary to popular belief, I need sleep too." And with that, he climbed the stairs to his room and vanished.  
  
"Bloody hell," Ron swore then ran after him.

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A/N: This story has a snowball's chance in hell of being updated but if you are truly desperate to learn more delete the spaces in

http: games. groups. yahoo. com/ group/ Avelerafantasy /

Or go to the link on my author page. Those who ask in a message to know the ending of this fic will receive it.


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